


in the shadow of the valley

by cis_king_uwu



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 104th Training Corps - Freeform, Drabble, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, My First Work in This Fandom, No Dialogue, Possibly OOC, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cis_king_uwu/pseuds/cis_king_uwu
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Reiner Braun, Mikasa Ackerman & Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager
Kudos: 15





	in the shadow of the valley

Armin couldn't remember when their routine had started but also couldn't imagine, or didn't want to, it ever ending. Whenever they had a day off from training, which wasn't very often, he and Reiner somehow managed to find themselves together, whether it be with their classmates or just the two of them. Usually, when it wasn't simply just a large group of them blowing off steam together, Eren, Mikasa, and Bertolt tagged along with them but that day they were alone. 

The sun burned bright in the sky, shining down on them with its unforgiving rays. The rest of the 104th were inside either the dorms or the mess hall, staving off the heat the best they could in the middle of summer. The sounds of cicadas and other insects filled Armin's ears, along with the sound of Reiner breathing next to him. They were laying in the shade behind the men's dormitory, the grass around them was still damp from that mornings' dew. The pair laid a few inches apart, silently looking up at the sky with an unspoken air between them; the peace and quiet that came from laying next to each other is what they currently needed. If they wanted boisterous conversation they would be in the mess hall with Sasha, Connie, Jean, and Marco or in the dorms with Mikasa, Eren, Bertolt, and the others. 

Commandant Sadies hadn't relented their training, even when the summer's warmth had reached its peak some days ago, so the day off was much needed by many in the 104th. The winter months were harsher but the seemingly never-ending heat of the summer pair with the intense training was a match made in hell, or so the cadets believed. 

The sky was clear and blue above Reiner and Armin, not a cloud to be seen for miles, and the grass was green and wet beneath them. Armin, not that he would openly admit it, greatly enjoyed Reiner's presence, he wasn't cold and calculated like Mikasa or loud and impulsive like Eren. He seemed to understand Armin in a different way than they did, he knew exactly what he needed, and when he needed it. There were days when they would joke and laugh with the others in the mess hall because that's what the two of them needed and there were also days like this one, where they wanted isolation from the others but still wanted to keep each other company. Their friends would tease them about it when they, eventually, find them in their apparent hiding place, as they've done in the past, but Armin had long since stopped paying them any mind when it came to him and Reiner. 

After graduation, nothing was a guarantee so Armin, and he was assuming everyone else in the 104th, was trying to make the most of his years in training. Building up his relationships, taking the time to get to know his classmates, and the like. He didn't want to imagine losing any one of them, especially Eren, Mikasa, and Reiner. 

As if he could hear Armin's thoughts, Reiner tentatively grabs Armin's hand that was in the small amount of space between them and gives him a small closed-mouth smile. Armin reassuringly squeezes his hand and smiles back, wishing that he could stop time in that moment and stay there for the rest of eternity.


End file.
